Chapter 39: Unexpected

Gao Rong paused for a moment on his end and replied, “Okay, do I need to prepare anything?”

“No…”

Chi Lanyi also didn’t know what to tell Gao Rong, and he also didn’t know what Gao Rong should say to Chloe and the others. So after thinking about it, he actually said half-jokingly, “Just act like a normal boyfriend.”

“Of course, I’ll behave well.” Gao Rong replied, “Do you prefer younger ones, or older ones?”

“Younger, I guess. I don’t want them thinking I have an Electra complex.”

The two chatted back and forth about little things. Chi Lanyi found that after their argument the other day, they had developed this habit of long text conversations.

It seemed better than calling directly, so in every spare time slot, they could stick together constantly, without any gaps.

Chi Lanyi gently pressed his face to the phone screen, as if pressing against Gao Rong through the screen. After a long moment, he first said, “Not chatting anymore, I have class to go to.”

“Mm.” Gao Rong said, “Those seven outfits for the finals, you’ve already started on the second one, right?”

“Uh, how do you know that.”

“Leah told me. She said the competition organizers have been mentoring you all along, and she said working with you has been a joy.”

Thinking of Leah, Chi Lanyi smiled faintly: “…Mm.”

“Sometimes I’m a bit envious of her. She gets to be the first to wear the clothes you design.” Gao Rong said pointedly.

“Don’t get jealous over nothing.” Chi Lanyi wrinkled his nose, “And I’m also doing menswear… I have a final project this semester that requires me to make three sets of menswear. Too bad they’re not suitable for you to wear.”

“I’m still looking forward to the finished products. As long as it’s clothes you made, I like them all.” Gao Rong said, then suddenly added, “Oh right, Leah also asked me if the leather cord on your wrist was a gift from me. She thinks it doesn’t look like a style you would like.”

Chi Lanyi stiffened and blushed slightly. Gao Rong said, “Today’s meeting is very troublesome. But just thinking that you’re wearing something I gave you on your wrist makes me very happy.”

“Stop saying nonsense… I really have to go.” Chi Lanyi said, putting up a desperate resistance.

Through the phone, Chi Lanyi could also see Gao Rong chuckling softly. Gao Rong even sent him a final sticker, a puppy saying “Roger.”

Chi Lanyi turned off his phone.

All afternoon, he touched the leather cord on his wrist, somewhat restless.

Today, he also ran into Fang Heng, Solene, and Theo at school—it was when going to the school’s resource center to pick up materials. Besides the incubator project, the three of them were also preparing for their graduation show. This encounter, it had to be said, had a bit of a “narrow road for enemies” feel.

Fang Heng was still cold, but upon seeing the leather cord on Chi Lanyi’s wrist, his gaze paused. Theo still hated Chi Lanyi and huffed from afar.

Only Solene was polite and enthusiastic: “Chi Lanyi, I heard you’re exhibiting at Atelier Rivière this Sunday? You’re also bringing seven pieces of accessories you made yourself.”

“Just something I casually did…” Chi Lanyi said subconsciously.

“Fang Heng and I will also go to see. We’ll be looking forward to seeing your work then.” Solene smiled.

Her goodwill made Chi Lanyi feel very warm, and he also smiled. Theo huffed again. Fang Heng glanced at him and said coolly, “What. Theo, you want to go see too?”

“I have no interest in that. What’s the big deal about making accessories? Just a bunch of amateur little things.” Theo sneered.

Solene frowned, clearly disapproving of his attitude.

Fang Heng, however, only looked at Chi Lanyi: “By the way, how many people are you going with?”

“What?” Chi Lanyi didn’t understand.

“…I’m just considering, should I go to your booth then.” After Fang Heng finished speaking, he added, “I don’t want to see the wrong person.”

In that moment, Chi Lanyi seemed to understand Fang Heng’s meaning.

The three left with their materials. Chi Lanyi also took the materials he had applied for and left, but slowly walked under the shade of a tree.

His heart, however, was beating very fast.

That’s right. Just as Fang Heng hinted—he could bring his own friends to the booth and sit with him.

If he could invite Gao Rong to Chloe’s farewell party, wanting Gao Rong to get to know his friends and avoid so many misunderstandings, then could he also invite Gao Rong to the Atelier Rivière exhibition?

That way, Gao Rong could be a little closer to his world, and also see more of his talent, his life…

Perhaps Gao Rong wouldn’t always overreact then.

Chi Lanyi’s heart surged with emotion. For a moment, he thought it was a very good idea. He sent Gao Rong a message: “Are you free on Sunday?”

“What’s up?”

Chi Lanyi changed his mind: “Never mind. Let’s talk after tonight’s party.”

A voice inside him seemed to want him to see how Gao Rong interacted with his friends first.

And then—make that decision.

Chi Lanyi didn’t know what he was thinking. Watching the sunlight filter through the tree shade, leaving dappled marks on the ground, in that moment, he felt like he saw Jamie’s worried eyes.

And perhaps further—Élodie’s sensitivity in perceiving something from his designs, Fang Heng’s stubbornness in coming over to argue directly after seeing his mood board.

But Chi Lanyi was very determined. He thought, no matter what they think, I will work hard.

All my efforts are so that we can smoothly reach ten years from now.

His mind made up, Chi Lanyi finally relaxed. At 6 PM, he went out with Clément to Chloe’s apartment.

Today’s gathering was held at Chloe’s apartment. Besides the few of them, there were also a few of Chloe’s friends. A group of young people talked and laughed; it was very lively.

And Chi Lanyi quickly discovered—Gao Rong was right. You really couldn’t get full at this kind of party. There wasn’t even any food that suited his taste.

If he’d known, he should have, as Gao Rong said, filled his stomach before coming over.

While he was depressed, Clément noticed his discomfort. Clément made an excuse to go out for a bit, and not long after, actually brought back a few bags of fried chicken.

“I’ve been in class all day, I was a bit hungry,” he said with a smile.

Everyone scrambled for it. Chi Lanyi also took a piece—he cast a grateful look at Clément. Clément also smiled at him.

Just as he felt warmth, Chi Lanyi’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

In that instant, he thought, Clément was male.

If Gao Rong saw… would he…

When this thought flashed by, Chi Lanyi trembled. He tried hard to suppress his unease and told himself repeatedly, hadn’t Gao Rong said, never again?

After that argument a few days ago, hadn’t Gao Rong already apologized for it?

But that sense of unease was still very thick.

Until the last half hour of the gathering, when a wave of Chloe’s own friends had left. She then hooked her arm around Chi Lanyi’s and said happily, “Alright, alright, the people you’re not close to are gone. Can we get down to business now?”

“What business?”

“The boyfriend—the boyfriend—” Chloe dragged her voice out, looking at Chi Lanyi with big eyes, “No way? I’ve been looking forward to this all evening. You’re not going back on your word, are you?”

Just as curious as her were Élodie and Clément. Chi Lanyi looked at the three of them and smiled wryly.

Only Jamie was drinking soda on the side, looking both wary and listless. Chi Lanyi glanced at him and said, “I’ll call my boyfriend to come over.”

He dialed the number.

In no time, Chi Lanyi said, “He says he’s already here… I’ll go down to get him.”

“That fast?” Chloe was surprised, “Has he been waiting downstairs this whole time?”

“Mm.” Chi Lanyi said.

He hurried downstairs. Chloe and Élodie were still chatting behind him. Chloe said, “I don’t think it’s that strange. If my boyfriend were a beauty like Chi, I wouldn’t let go either…”

Élodie said, “But I would feel it’s a bit too pushy. I wouldn’t really like it.”

Chi Lanyi tried hard to push their discussion out of his mind.

By the time he reached the apartment entrance, a light spring rain had started falling. Chi Lanyi raised his hand to catch the raindrops. In the cool sensation, he thought, summer would be here soon.

Just then, he looked up and saw Gao Rong across from the apartment.

Gao Rong was wearing an ordinary leather jacket, looking clean and stylish, no different from a university student a few years past graduation.

The elite, used to being domineering, didn’t even seem out of place under the apartment building where university students came and went. Instead, he blended in smoothly. Chi Lanyi looked at him and knew Gao Rong had dressed like this for his sake.

Amidst this heart-wrenchingly happy feeling, like raindrops falling on his heart, Chi Lanyi found he was uncontrollably thinking about something else.

He was thinking about Clément’s fried chicken.

—He was thinking, if Gao Rong knew that Clément had noticed something was wrong with him and bought him fried chicken, how would Gao Rong react?

“…You’re here.” Chi Lanyi said.

“Mm.” Gao Rong looked down at his watch, “I arrived on time, didn’t I?”

Gao Rong had even changed his watch.

His watch had switched from an expensive Rolex to an Apple Watch favored by university students. From head to toe, every detail about himself had been recast clearly.

Even the skate shoes on his feet weren’t brand new but had been deliberately scuffed somewhere with a bit of dust—so that this outfit looked like it had always been growing on Gao Rong.

Gao Rong was really putting in the effort. Chi Lanyi looked left, looked right, observing every detail. Seeing him like this, Gao Rong couldn’t help but laugh: “Like a curious little kitten.”

“I feel like I’ve got myself another boyfriend,” Chi Lanyi said.

“What style do you want next time? I can get you another one,” Gao Rong said seriously.

Chi Lanyi let out a “Pfft” laugh. He tried to hide the unstoppable happiness on his face: “Enough talk, let’s hurry upstairs. They’ll get impatient waiting.”

In the cramped elevator, Gao Rong took Chi Lanyi’s hand and interlocked their fingers. Chi Lanyi glanced at him, and he lowered his head, lifting the back of Chi Lanyi’s hand to his lips for a kiss.

The back of Chi Lanyi’s hand burned with sweetness. His face red, he also tightly held Gao Rong’s hand.

As soon as the door opened, Chi Lanyi was smacked in the face by a face-full of confetti. He stared blankly at Gao Rong, who had reached out to block it for him and was similarly covered in confetti, while his ears filled with Chloe’s unbridled laughter.

“Hahaha! Look at those dumb faces they’re making. I told you, we had to give them a surprise like this, right? How else could we get good pictures?” She said gleefully, “Élodie, did you get the shot?”

“Got it, got it.” Élodie raised the Polaroid in her hand, laughing, “I was very quick.”

Chi Lanyi was baffled. He had just pulled the confetti off his face when he heard Chloe scream, “Oh my god! You’re Chi’s boyfriend? You’re really so handsome!!”

“Thank you.” Gao Rong finished picking the confetti off his own face and came to help Chi Lanyi, also not forgetting to say to Chloe in a complaining tone, “I would’ve been more grateful if you hadn’t sprayed me in the face with confetti.”

“Hey! Handsome guy, don’t be so stingy! I still want to hear your love story!” Chloe said, “Come in and drink. Clément says he learned to mix drinks and is showing off his skills for us.”

Chi Lanyi carefully led Gao Rong inside. But Gao Rong naturally tossed his jacket onto the sofa by the door and seamlessly joined the conversation: “Mixing drinks? That impressive. Looks like you’ve got a real expert hidden here.”

Chloe was smug: “You bet.”

“Don’t embarrass me, I just casually learned it in an elective… Come in quickly. The ice will melt soon,” Clément said helplessly.

The group sat down noisily around the table. Chi Lanyi noticed Jamie in the corner looking at Gao Rong with a somewhat strange expression—surprise he hadn’t managed to retract in time.

Then, Jamie briefly met Chi Lanyi’s eyes.

Chi Lanyi thought, he also felt very surprised.

He was actually very nervous. He was worried Gao Rong wouldn’t act like a normal boyfriend. He was worried Gao Rong would be completely out of place with his classmates. He was even more worried that more people would misunderstand the relationship between him and Gao Rong.

—Or see some hidden corner of this relationship that he himself was unwilling to admit.

But Gao Rong actually performed so well. He naturally blended in here, like a chameleon. Gao Rong praised Clément’s drink-mixing skills and talked with Élodie about which stores had the best recent sales.

Gao Rong even talked with Chloe about his travel experiences in the UK, about which market in London had the freshest fish, and where there were interesting souvenirs—Chloe loved these food-and-fun topics the most. She even asked which bars in London were the most fun and where the most interesting stories could be heard.

Her eyes were curved, clearly chatting very happily.

—Chloe even completely didn’t know that Gao Rong was the “instigator” hiding behind the scenes, driving this trip to London.

Chi Lanyi didn’t know whether he should feel relieved or even more tense. He was grateful to Gao Rong for working so hard for him, yet also felt that Gao Rong’s acting was so good it amazed him.

Only Jamie didn’t participate much in the conversation. He looked like he had played himself out, uninterested in all the topics. Chloe explained to Gao Rong on his behalf, “He stayed up late yesterday. Don’t mind him.”

Gao Rong said, “Of course. Jamie, I’m also very grateful for how you usually look after Lanyi.”

He clinked glasses with Jamie. Jamie glanced at him and responded.

Chi Lanyi looked down and played with the cup on the table, feeling a bit awkward for Jamie. Gao Rong nudged his shoulder and handed him a small cake.

“…Thanks,” Chi Lanyi said subconsciously.

Chloe couldn’t help but laugh: “You two are oddly polite. Aren’t you a couple? Oh, did you bring this little cake?”

Gao Rong also smiled. He didn’t address the thanks, just said, “I was afraid the party would be too lively and he wouldn’t get enough to eat.”

“Ah, then you worried for nothing. Earlier, Clément noticed Chi Lanyi hadn’t eaten enough and specially went out to buy fried chicken back.” Chloe stuck out her tongue, “With our good mom Clément around, it’s impossible for Chi Lanyi to go hungry.”

Chi Lanyi trembled all over at that moment.

The thing he least wanted to happen had happened. Chi Lanyi looked at Gao Rong somewhat abruptly, but his fingers were tightly held by Gao Rong under the table.

Gao Rong stroked him again and again, as if soothing him. His tone was still steady: “Then I truly must thank him.”

Gao Rong showed no abnormality whatsoever, just as he had said—he would never again do something like sending away Chi Lanyi’s friends.

But Chi Lanyi was still a bit tense. He couldn’t stop thinking about images of Clément being sent away.